Bronx Dems plan to counter ‘enemy’ Trump rally with Crotona Park demonstration
Donald Trump can expect both cheers and jeers Thursday night when he holds a campaign rally in the Bronx, with Democrats and liberal activists planning a counter-demonstration at the other end of Crotona Park from the 45th president’s event.
Democratic Assemblywoman Amanda Septimo and civil rights activist Kirsten John Foy told The Post Monday they don’t want Trump and his views on issues such as immigration to go unchallenged in the deep-blue borough, so they organized counter-programming.
“Trump is the antithesis of what the Bronx stands for,” Septimo said.
“Trump’s opposition to immigrants is disgusting. He’s never been a friend of immigrants,” she added.
Trump has said he’s for legal immigration, but wants to crack down on illegal immigration at the US-Mexico border and carry out mass deportations of illegal crossers.
Foy, a minister and civil rights activist who heads the Arc of Justice organization, added: “This man is on trial in the media capital of the world. He’s trying to deflect attention from the trial.
“Trump coming to the Bronx is hubris. His rally is a publicity stunt to change the narrative. It’s silly.”
Members of the Democratic and Working Families Party, pro-immigration advocates and union activists will be part of the anti-Trump rally.
Both Septimo and Foy acknowledged that Trump is aggressively pushing to make inroads among blackand Latino voters, and that inflation is an issue.
Polls show that Trump has gained some traction while President Biden is lagging among core black and brown constituencies.
But Biden’s policies, Foy insisted, have created thousands of jobs.
By contrast, in Septimo’s words, “Trump is the enemy.”
The Trump campaign has received a permit for up to 3,500 spectators to attend Thursday’s rally, and one political insider said it would be embarrassing for Democrats if Trump supporters outnumber the counter-protesters.
The 45th president drew an estimated crowd of 100,000 backers at a rally in Wildwood, NJ, last week.
One wild card for Thursday is the weather — showers and thunderstorms are forecast for the evening hours, when both rallies are scheduled.